Meier gets Garmin-Chipotle gig

Canada's Christian Meier will get the chance to prove himself to North American Professional Continental squad Garmin-Chipotle after signing as a stagiare. The Symmetrics rider's deal with Jonathan Vaughters' squad will allow him to prove his worth to the squad, which was granted Tour de France and Giro d'Italia wildcards this year, ahead of a possible contract for 2009.

"We couldn't be more proud and happy for Christian," wrote Symmetrics team manager Kevin Field on Symmetricscycling.com. "It has always been our goal to develop Canadian Cycling and our own talent. Ideally that means our team grows at the same rate as our athletes, but if we can't do that we are proud to see them move on."

Last month Meier proved his strength at the Canadian national championships, where he won the men's road race. The 23 year-old was also the Espoir Canadian National Champion in 2007, the same year he finished seventh in the Espoir Liège-Bastogne-Liège.